PRIMUS

Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate

Studies

ISSN: 1051-1970 (Print) 1935-4053 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/upri20

An Introduction to the Flipped Classroom

Krista Maxson & Zsuzsanna Szaniszlo
To cite this article: Krista Maxson & Zsuzsanna Szaniszlo (2015) An Introduction to the Flipped
Classroom, PRIMUS, 25:8, 597-599, DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2015.1058307
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2015.1058307

Published online: 27 Oct 2015.

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Date: 03 December 2015, At: 08:56

PRIMUS, 25(8): 597599, 2015

Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1051-1970 print / 1935-4053 online
DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2015.1058307

An Introduction to the Flipped Classroom

Downloaded by [University of Lethbridge] at 08:56 03 December 2015

Krista Maxson and Zsuzsanna Szaniszlo

This is the first of two special issues of PRIMUS on the instructional approach
known as the flipped or inverted classroom. This first issue contains papers
. describe personal experiences with the approach, including reflections on
that
key logistics as well as the use of different technologies. The second issue
contains articles that are more focused on designed studies to measure the
effectiveness of the method.
The idea behind the instructional method central to these two issues of
PRIMUS is certainly not new in its implementation, but is nonetheless not
well-documented in the literature, particularly in mathematics. This pedagogy
usually includes the expectation that students come prepared to discuss readings and participate in activities that deepen the conceptual knowledge of
newly acquired content. These techniques have a long tradition. For example, humanities courses regularly require this preparation of their students and
the method has long existed in the sciences as well. Sylvanus Thayer, often
called the Father of West Point, required students in his mathematics and
science courses to come to class prepared from reading and attempted activities. He wrote a handbook to guide instruction that included peer recitation
with guidance from the instructor [4].
In the literature, the name flipped [1] or inverted classroom [3] is fairly
new. The definition of the flipped classroom has been open to interpretation, but
usually involves the common theme of delivery of content outside of the classroom with time in class for what was traditionally done at home. To counter
misconceptions and distinguish flipped learning from the flipped classroom,
the governing board of the Flipped Learning Network (FLN) [2] composed a
formal definition of flipped learning and released it in March of 2014:
Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves
from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting
Address correspondence to Krista Maxson, University of Science and Arts of
Oklahoma, 1727 West Alabama Ave, Chickasha, OK 73018, USA. E-mail: kmaxson@
usao.edu

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Maxson and Szaniszlo

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group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment

where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively
in the subject matter.

Flipped instruction frees up class time for collaborative and interactive learning, and it creates more opportunities for one-on-one time with the instructor.
Thus the environment shifts in focus from teacher-centered to learner-centered.
Often the flipped classroom is represented simply as a reversal of homework and lecture. Other instructors incorporate active-learning activities to
use the time that moving the lecture outside of the classroom affords. In fact,
for many instructors the main reason to flip the classroom is the additional
time this teaching method provides for active-learning opportunities, such
as project-based and inquiry-based learning or cooperative and collaborative
learning.
The method has grown in popularity with the increase in user-friendly
technology that enables instructors to deliver content outside of class via video
or other modes. The widespread use of tablets and apps that lets anyone create
high-quality videos has come in tandem with new expectations from a highly
tech-savvy and technology-dependent generation of students entering college.
These developments have prompted the use of technological advances in the
service of teaching and learning in ways that might signal a paradigm shift in
how content is delivered in (or outside) the college mathematics classroom.
As an indication of the popularity of the idea, the interdisciplinary FLN
membership has grown from 2500 in 2009 to over 20,000 high school teachers
and college instructors by 2014 [2]. There is also a recent growth of webinars,
Teaching and Learning Center web pages along with media coverage on the
subject.
In this first special issue of PRIMUS, our main goal is to introduce the
topic to the novice in the field with sufficient examples and suggestions on
how to start using this approach in the mathematical sciences. We included
papers that describe the fundamental logistics of the teaching method while
comparing or describing the use of different apps and software. We expect that
even experienced flippers will find useful suggestions among the multiple
different approaches and techniques discussed here.
REFERENCES
1. Baker, J. W. 2000. The classroom flip: Using web course management tools to become the guide by the side. In Proceedings of the 11th
International Conference on College Teaching and Learning, Jacksonville,
FL.
2. Flipped Learning Network. http://flippedlearning.org/site/default.aspx?
PageID=1. Accessed 3 August 2015.

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3. Lage, M. J., G. J. Platt, & M. Treglia.2000. Inverting the classroom: A gateway to creating an inclusive learning environment. The Journal of Economic
Education. 31(1): 3043.
4. Shell, A. E. 2002. The Thayer method of instruction at the United States
Military Academy: A modest history and a modern personal account.
PRIMUS. 12(1): 2738.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Krista Maxson graduated with her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska,
Lincoln in 1999 at which time she joined the faculty of Shawnee State
University. She served as Chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences
at Shawnee State University from 2006 to 2015 and as the Interim Associate
Provost during 2013/2014. In July 2015 she joined the University of Science
and Arts of Oklahoma as the Vice President for Academic Affairs. At the
2013 Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) she led a Project NExT open discussion on the flipped classroom which led to the creation of a Google community
of faculty interested in the inverted classroom. She and Dr. Szaniszlo coorganized the Flipping the Classroom contributed paper session at the
2014 JMM which led to them co-editing this special issue on the flipped classroom for PRIMUS. She co-presented at the 31st Annual Academic Chairs
Conference on the issues facing chairs associated with flipped classes which
led to a publication in The Department Chair. Dr. Maxson has given invited
presentations at the Ohio Education Resource Center and the Appalachian
Higher Education Networks annual conferences on the flipped classroom. She
has also given invited presentations at Western Kentucky University and the
Ohio State University on using the flipped classroom to offer dual enrollment
courses and has provided professional development for the Ohio Appalachian
Collaborative and the Lawrence County summer academy on the subject.
Zsuzsanna Szaniszlo is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Valparaiso
University. She has served as the Associate Dean of the Graduate School and
Continuing Education for the past two years. Her main professional interests in
mathematics are combinatorics, graph theory, math competitions, and undergraduate research. In her 20 years of college teaching she has experimented
with many different methods of instruction. She frequently combines features
of different methods to reach as many students as possible. Her combinatorics
classes have been partially flipped for 15 years, with students working in small
groups on solving homework-type problems in most classes. Dr Szaniszlo
learns about new teaching methods and resources whenever she can and she
shamelessly steals the best ideas she comes across.